Further Reflections: Ballpark Heaven seems to oppose legacy of Field of Dreams

12:05 AM,
Sep. 7, 2013

Written by

Jeff Morrison

It has always bothered me that the last line in "Field of Dreams" was "Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?" I had never heard the phrase that way. It was always "play catch" or "go catch."

But the overhead shot that followed, of the cars lining up to see a baseball diamond tucked in the corner of a cornfield, that's Iowa. That scene is repeated hundreds of times every summer, not for Ghost Players emerging from a cornfield but for baseball and softball players of all ages in diamonds from Sidney to New Albin.

The movie itself is an inflection point for both Iowa and baseball. It was filmed during one of the worst ...